Pakistani authorities arrest man accused in $126 million US postage fraud scheme | World News | #cybercrime | #infosec

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani authorities acting on intelligence arrested a man Tuesday accused of running an online counterfeit postage operation that United States prosecutors say caused more than $126 million in losses to the US Postal Service, Pakistan’s cybercrime investigation agency said. Faheem Akram, 33, was arrested after a weekslong search involving raids across several parts of the country, a senior official at the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency, Atif Ameer, told reporters. Akram, a resident of Khanewal in eastern Punjab province, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida, the US Attorney’s Office for the district said in a September 28 statement. The office alleged that Akram operated LabelsBank.com, an unauthorised website that sold more than 5.1 million counterfeit postage labels to more than 5,200 customers. The labels typically cost $2 each, regardless of a package’s weight, size or destination. The counterfeit labels allowed customers to ship packages at prices far below legitimate postal rates, resulting in lost revenue and shipping costs for the Postal Service, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Its estimate of more than $126 million represents alleged losses to the Postal Service rather than proceeds from the website’s sales. Ameer said Pakistani investigators found that Akram operated the website from August 2023 through September 2026 and used 16 bank accounts for the business. Those included accounts held by Akram, his brother, wife, sister and aunt, he said. It was unclear whether Akram would be extradited to the United States or face trial in Pakistan. Follow The Gleaner on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.

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